Our picksUFO sighting | Centralized biometric data | South Carolina sea threat, and more

Published 21 June 2019

·  Lawmakers are “coming out of the woodwork” to be briefed on UFOs: Report

·  How the Pentagon nickel-and-dimed its way into losing a drone

·  Will Trump’s campaign for 5G hinder storm forecasts?

·  The drone Iran shot down was a $220M surveillance monster

·  New York just passed the most ambitious climate target in the country

·  DHS pushes on centralizing access to biometric data

·  Massachusetts can become a national leader to stop face surveillance

·  $20B needed to shield South Carolina from rising sea levels

Lawmakers are “coming out of the woodwork” to be briefed on UFOs: Report (Matt Stieb, New York Magazine)
According to congressional officials who spoke to Politico, three senators received a classified briefing from the Pentagon on Wednesday regarding Navy encounters with unidentified aircraft. The briefing is one of a number of recent requests from oversight committee members following a report in May of Navy pilots who frequently saw Tic Tac-looking UFOs flying off the southeast coast of the United States between 2014 and 2015.

How the Pentagon nickel-and-dimed its way into losing a drone (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
The lion’s share of the U.S. drone fleet is easy prey for advanced air defenses. It didn’t have to be that way.

Will Trump’s campaign for 5G hinder storm forecasts? (Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Time)
Many government scientists say such warnings may become a thing of the past if the Trump administration’s FCC pushes forward with plans to auction off radio frequency bands adjacent to one that weather forecasters use.

The drone Iran shot down was a $220M surveillance monster (Lily Hay Newman, Wired)
Early Thursday morning, Iran shot down a United States unmanned aerial vehicle over the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran identified the drone as an RQ-4A Global Hawk, a $220 million UAV that acts as a massive surveillance platform in the sky. The attack marks an escalation with tensions already running high between the US and Iran—particularly because of the value and technical sensitivity of the downed drone.

New York just passed the most ambitious climate target in the country (David Roberts, Vox)
Carbon-free electricity by 2040 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

DHS pushes on centralizing access to biometric data (Derek B. Johnson, FCW)
Despite rising controversies around its use, the Department of Homeland Security is looking to expand data analysis capabilities for its biometric and facial recognition capabilities.
According to a June 17
request for information, the Office of Biometric Identity Management at DHS is looking for contractors to help develop, integrate and implement capabilities for a host of software systems, including its legacy biometric identification system, IDENT, and its replacement, the Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology System. HART will be moved to an Amazon Web Services cloud certified by the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, according to the document.

Massachusetts can become a national leader to stop face surveillance (Hayley Tsukayama, EFF)
Massachusetts has a long history of standing up for liberty. Right now, it has the opportunity to become a national leader in fighting invasive government surveillance. Lawmakers need to hear from the people of Massachusetts to say they oppose government use of face surveillance.

$20B needed to shield South Carolina from rising sea levels (Sammy Fretwell, The State)
The report by the Center for Climate Integrity says South Carolina needs 3,202 miles of seawalls — enough to cover the entire coast — to shield its beaches, marshes and tidal rivers from sea-level rise